The Transylvania Times -

Upcoming Dinner And Program

Mark your calendar for Thursday, July 18, for the next Dunn’s Rock Community Center Dinner and Program. We’ll enjoy a great Summertime meal of hot dogs and all the fixings at 6 p.m., followed by a program given by the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Unit. Come hear about how these dogs are helping serve the community by assisting officers.

Janet Robertson and the kitchen crew will prepare the evening’s dinner, and donations will be accepted to cover the cost. Contributions to the dessert table are always welcome. Come visit with neighbors and meet these important members of the law enforcement community.

For information on renting the community center for a special event, contact Janet Robertson at 883-2678.

Duckpond At Dusk

Tonight’s Duckpond at Dusk concert features 5j Barrow, the popular folk/rock duo of Eryn Murman and Jason Hite. The band is named for the Greenwich Village apartment where the couple found inspiration from the neighborhood’s artistic vibe. They appeared last year at Mountain Song Festival and this spring at the Songsmith Gathering. Come check them out at this more intimate venue. The cover is on a sliding scale of $10-20, and the band will have CDs available for sale.

The Blessing Of Out-Of-Town Guests

A few things are predictable in a Dunn’s Rock summer - fireflies, dark afternoon storm clouds (with and without accompanying rain) and out-of-town guests. In fact, information on relocating to Transylvania County should include the admonition, “If you move here, they will come.”

Is it because the people who have had the good fortune to be born here or the good sense to have moved here are more popular than other people? Perhaps. More likely, it’s because we live both in a vacation paradise and a place located conveniently between large metro areas.

At summer’s unofficial beginning on Memorial Day, we had one set of scheduled guests on the horizon, our twin 10-year-old nieces. They’ve been coming from Johnson City, Tenn., every summer for the last four years to enjoy Rec. Department sports camps.

Slowly, but surely, other visits began to pop up, with notice of a few weeks to a few days given. Our rule is when family comes calling, the answer is always yes - and everyone is family. What started out as empty calendar pages have become filled with lines marking the beginning and end of guests’ visits. Just as soon as we emptied the bed of a camp-bound daughter, it was filled by friends on their way back from Greensboro to Pensacola.

I’ve found that besides the joy of getting to see family members and old friends again, there are many side benefits of hosting guests.

The house is clean. Nothing gets a vacuum out of the closet faster or a toilet brush swishing quicker than when guests are one-hour out from the house. John and I have this cleaning choreography down to a fine art. By the time our guests have arrived, clutter has been stowed in closets and the floor may be damp, but it’s clean.

You get to be a tourist. As owners of a business for whom summer is a prime season, there’s often little time to enjoy what draws visitors to the area. When guests come to visit, however, it’s a great chance to take a stroll through downtown, visit a new waterfall, or try out a great restaurant – all while enjoying the comfort of your own bed at night.

Making brownies is okay. Having house guests is a great excuse to indulge in some infrequent dessert treats because there will likely be no left-overs to threaten your waistline come morning.

There are certainly other advantages of out-of-town visitors, but they will have to wait for another column. I need to stop now to sweep the porch for my next guests. Come to think of it, the relocation materials need to include another disclaimer: If they’ve come once, they will return.

Tell me about your strategies for out-of-town guests, or any other community news, at dunnsrockview@gmail.com.